The story of the Jewish people begins not in Europe or Russia, but in the dusty hills of Canaan—today’s Israel and Palestinian territories—where a man named Abram was called by the Lord to leave Ur and follow Him to a promised land. God’s covenant with Abraham (Genesis 12, 15, and 17) forms the backbone of Jewish identity. It was not merely a spiritual promise but a geographic one: “To your offspring I will give this land.” From the start, Jewish peoplehood and the land of Israel were indivisible in God’s unfolding redemptive plan.
By the time of Moses, the descendants of Abraham were enslaved in Egypt, but their identity remained rooted in that ancient promise. After the Exodus and wilderness wandering, Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land. There, they became a people in possession of territory—a rare combination in ancient times, when tribal or ethnic identity often blurred without land continuity. The biblical period of judges gave way to monarchy under Saul, David, and Solomon, and despite division and exile, the land remained central.
But disobedience brought judgment. The northern kingdom (Israel) fell to Assyria in 722 BC, and the southern kingdom (Judah) was taken by Babylon in 586 BC. Yet even in exile, the hope of return endured. That hope was fulfilled, partially, in the return under Zerubbabel and Nehemiah. When Christ came, many Jews had already re-settled in Judea under Roman rule—occupied, but not erased.
Following the Bar-Kokhba Revolt (132–135 AD), Rome crushed Jewish resistance and exiled most remaining Jews from Judea. The Emperor Hadrian renamed the province Syria Palaestina, deliberately erasing Jewish identity from the land. Historian Benny Morris, no Christian but a fair-minded scholar, documents how this dispersion did not destroy the people, only displaced them. While some Jews remained in the land (especially in Galilee and along the coast), most were scattered throughout the Roman world—into North Africa, Italy, Arabia, Persia, and eventually Eastern Europe.
Over time, these Jews became distinct communities: Ashkenazi Jews in Europe, Sephardic Jews in Spain and the Mediterranean, and Mizrahi Jews in the Middle East. Despite dispersion, they retained a remarkably unified identity through Scripture, tradition, and memory. The land of Israel remained central in liturgy and longing. At every Passover, Jews around the world declared: “Next year in Jerusalem.”
Anti-Zionism vs. Anti-Semitism: Distinction Without a Difference?
In modern political discourse, one often hears the claim that “I’m not anti-Semitic; I’m just anti-Zionist.” The distinction is sometimes legitimate. It is entirely possible to critique a specific Israeli policy without hating Jews. However, in most cases, anti-Zionism functions as a socially acceptable mask for anti-Semitism.
Anti-Semitism is hatred, prejudice, or hostility toward Jews because they are Jews. It may take religious, racial, cultural, or economic forms. Anti-Zionism, in theory, is opposition to the political ideology that Jews have a right to a nation-state in their ancestral homeland. But when anti-Zionists:
- Deny Jews the right to self-determination while affirming it for others,
- Call for the destruction of the Jewish state,
- Excuse or promote violence against Israeli civilians,
- And target Jews worldwide for Israel’s actions,
…then anti-Zionism becomes indistinguishable from anti-Semitism.
The two are not mutually exclusive, nor are they collectively exhaustive. A person may hate Jews but not care about Israel, or hate Israel without understanding Judaism. But in practice, the overlap is extensive—particularly on the radical Left, in Islamist ideology, and on the conspiratorial Right.
The Nations Round About: The Ring of Hostility
Since Israel’s founding in 1948, it has faced hostility from almost every surrounding nation. This enmity is rooted in Islamic theology, Arab nationalism, and geopolitical rivalry.
IraUn leads the charge today. As a Shi’a Islamic theocracy, Iran sees itself as the spiritual vanguard of Islamic resistance against “Zionism.” Through its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Quds Force, Iran funds and arms:
- Hezbollah in Lebanon,
- Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza,
- Shi’a militias in Syria and Iraq,
- The Houthis in Yemen, who now fire drones at Israel from hundreds of miles away.
Iran’s supreme leaders openly call for Israel’s annihilation, referring to it as a “cancer” and the “Zionist entity.” But Iran is not alone.
Lebanon, now dominated by Hezbollah, serves as a launchpad for rocket attacks.
Syria, though ravaged by civil war, allows Iranian forces and weapons to pass through en route to Hezbollah.
Jordan and Egypt, though at peace with Israel diplomatically, harbor large populations and clerics who support anti-Semitic rhetoric.
Qatar funds Hamas and controls Al Jazeera, which regularly spreads anti-Israel propaganda.
Turkey, under Erdogan, has embraced Islamist populism, referring to Zionism as a “crime against humanity.”
Indoctrination, Charters, and the Cult of Death
Hatred is taught as much as it is caught. In Gaza and the West Bank, children are raised on curricula that demonize Jews. UNRWA, the UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees, has used textbooks that erase Israel from maps, glorify martyrdom, and encourage jihad. Palestinian cartoons depict Jews as rats, pigs, and vampires—borrowing from both Nazi and Islamic imagery.
The Hamas Charter (1988) quotes a hadith about Muslims killing Jews “behind every stone and tree.” It rejects negotiation and calls for a holy war until every inch of “Palestine” is cleansed of Jews.
The Palestinian Martyrs Fund (commonly known as “Pay for Slay”) rewards the families of terrorists with monthly stipends, honoring them as heroes. This economic incentive structure fuels violence and glorifies murder.
“From the River to the Sea” and “Global Intifada”
Many protesters chant: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” The river is the Jordan. The sea is the Mediterranean. What lies between is the entire land of Israel.
This slogan is not a call for coexistence. It is a call for Israel’s destruction. When protesters add “Global Intifada”, they invoke not just local uprising but worldwide violent revolution against Jews and their allies.
These phrases, while masked as liberation rhetoric, are genocidal in intention. They seek not a two-state solution, but a one-state replacement—without Jews.
Islamic Texts and the Demonization of Jews
The Qur’an contains numerous verses criticizing Jews, some of which are interpreted as permanently damning. In Surah 5:60, Jews are described as those whom Allah “turned into apes and pigs.” This is tied to a story—likely adapted from Jewish midrash—of Sabbath-breaking fishermen being cursed. Islamic tradition took this metaphor literally.
Other verses (e.g., Surah 2:61, 3:112) portray Jews as rebellious, cursed, and deserving of humiliation. The Hadith literature contains even harsher sayings, including one—cited in the Hamas Charter—that describes a coming war in which Muslims kill every Jew until the land is purified.
In some Hajj rituals, Muslims cast stones at a symbolic Satan (the Jamarat) during pilgrimage in Mecca. While not explicitly about Jews, some radical imams allegorize this as resistance to Zionism and Western corruption—associating the U.S. (“the Great Satan”) and Israel (“the Little Satan”) with devils to be overthrown.
Jihad as Redemption: The Radicalization of Disillusioned Muslims
A tragic pattern has emerged: Young Muslim men, especially in the West, sometimes drift into secular lifestyles, indulge in sin, and then experience guilt. In seeking redemption, they are vulnerable to radicalization. Terror recruiters promise that by killing non-Muslims, they can atone and earn martyrdom. Suicide bombings are thus marketed as a path to purity—a demonic distortion of repentance.
This pattern has been seen in attacks across Europe and America: 9/11 hijackers, the Boston bombers, the Bataclan attackers, and others followed this arc—moral failure followed by violent “redemption.”
Muslim Pogroms in History
While Christians rightly mourn the Church’s historical sins against Jews, Muslim pogroms have been underreported. Here are key examples:
- 627 AD: Muhammad ordered the massacre of the Banu Qurayza, a Jewish tribe in Medina. All 600–900 men and boys with pubic hair were beheaded. The women and girls were enslaved. This event is celebrated in some Islamist literature as a righteous act.
- 1066 – Granada, Spain: Muslim mobs killed over 4,000 Jews.
- 1834 – Safed, Ottoman Palestine: Arabs pillaged Jewish homes and murdered civilians.
- 1929 – Hebron Massacre: Arabs slaughtered 67 Jews, many of them students.
- 1941 – Farhud in Baghdad: Pogrom led by pro-Nazi Arabs killed hundreds of Jews and led to the destruction of the Jewish community in Iraq.
Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Violence
- The Holocaust (1933–1945): Six million Jews murdered by Nazi Germany, fueled by centuries of European antisemitism.
- 1972 Munich Olympics: Palestinian terrorists from Black September murdered 11 Israeli athletes.
- Hijackings: PLO and affiliates hijacked dozens of planes from 1968–1986.
- 2018–2024: Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, Monsey stabbing, Hamas October 7 massacre, firebombings, stabbings, and campus riots.
Each act has its own perpetrators, dates, and numbers. But the root is the same: hatred for God’s covenant people.
October 7: A Day of Blood and Shame
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched an invasion of southern Israel, murdering over 1,200 civilians. Women were raped, babies burned, entire families shot in their homes. Kibbutzim—rural villages known for peace—were massacred. The terrorists filmed themselves, laughing, mocking, praising Allah. The videos are so grotesque many platforms removed them, but their reality is indisputable.
The savagery was not hidden—it was celebrated. Crowds in Gaza danced. Children were given candy. This was not a political act. It was a sacrament of hatred.
The Perpetrators of Modern Hatred
Today, hatred of Jews comes from five main fronts:
- Islamists, driven by theological enmity.
- Neo-Marxists, who see Jews as colonial oppressors.
- White nationalists and KKK, who blame Jews for multiculturalism.
- Black Hebrew Israelites, who call Jews imposters and justify violence.
- University campuses, where students and faculty increasingly target Jews under the banner of “justice.”
Blood Libel and Other Lies
Jews have been falsely accused of murdering children for ritual purposes, poisoning wells, starting plagues, and global conspiracies. These lies serve one purpose: justify hatred and murder. The blood libel, in particular, fueled centuries of pogroms and continues to echo in modern media from Arab states.
Neo-Marxist Irony
It is supremely ironic that the Left now views Jews as “oppressors.” Jews were victims of the Holocaust. They remain minorities in every nation but one. Yet in the Marxist worldview, because they are successful, they are suspect. Prosperity becomes proof of guilt.
Envy: The Root of Many Lies
From Pharaoh to Hitler, from Karl Marx (who despised his own Jewish heritage) to the Mufti of Jerusalem (who collaborated with the Nazis), envy has always fueled anti-Semitism. The success, survival, and contribution of Jews provoke the jealous and the godless.
A Christian Perspective on the Hatred of the Jews
I am a Reformed/Particular Baptist. I hold an amillennial view of eschatology.
I affirm that God is not finished with the Jewish people. Romans 11 promises a future turning of the Jews to Christ, just prior to the Lord’s return.
I reject premillennial dispensationalism, but I reject an arrogance that forgets our roots, too.
Our Savior was a Jew. The Apostles were Jews. Our Bible is Jewish in origin. Hating Jews is hating an instrument that God used to bring redemption.
A Call to Compassion and Courage
We live in an age where antisemitism is resurgent. Christians must not be silent. We must:
- Reject the lies.
- Expose the hate.
- Defend the innocent.
Israel may not be perfect. But her enemies are often openly genocidal. We must see clearly. As Paul said, the Jews are “beloved for the sake of their forefathers” (Romans 11:28, ESV).
Let us not be deceived. Let us stand with truth.
Let us bless those whom God has not cursed.
S.D.G.,
Robert Sparkman
christiannewsjunkie@gmail.com
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